Refrigeration apparatus



A. J. SWANECK, JR, ETAL 3,038,218

June 12, 1962 REFRIGERATION APPARATUS Filed Oct. 20, 1959 I'N VENTORS.

ANTHONY J. SWANECK JR.

WITNESSES GERALD M.EWERS ORNEY 3,038,218 REFRIGERATION APPARATUS Anthony J. Swaneck, Jr., and Gerald M. Ewers, Columbus, Ohio, assignors to Westinghouse Electric Corporation, East Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed Oct. 20, 1959, Ser. No. 847,535 3 Claims. (Cl. 20-69) This invention relates to refrigeration apparatus and more particularly to an improved gasket for efiecting a seal between the door and the casing of refrigerator cabinets.

Gaskets used to assist in sealing refrigerator cabinets usually comprise an elongated base portion secured to the door, a balloon-like striking bead which extends longitudinally of the base portion, and a web connecting the striking bead to the base portion. Both the web and the striking bead are sufliciently flexible to enable the gasket to conform easily to the shape of the surface it engages. Also, relatively small forces are required to compress the gasket and hold the door shut.

Despite their advantages, gaskets of the type set forth effect a poor seal unless provision is made to prevent that vertical gasket portion closest to the hinge axis from defleeting laterally, as the door is closed, and causing buckling of adjacent horizontal gasket portions. This condition now prevails in many refrigerator cabinets, especially in those cabinets having so-called ninety degree door hinges wherein the hinge axis passes through the body of the door rather than along the door edge. Buckling in the horizontal gasket portions produces a partial collapse of the striking bead, and here is where the seal is lost. It is the principal concern of the present invention to correct the aforesaid condition in a way thought to be most .simple, direct, and effective.

According to the present invention, the vertical gasket portion closest to the vertical hinge axis of the door has an appreciable length of its striking bead, at both its upper and lower ends, also further attached to the base portion outwardly of the connection between the base portion and the web. This provision enables the ends of the vertical gasket portion near the hinge axis to resist lateral deflection with the result that adjacent horizontal gasket portions do not buckle and are able to effect a good seal.

The various objects, features and advantages of the invention will appear more fully from the following description and claims taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, forming a part of this application, in which:

FIG. 1 is a front view of a domestic refrigerator cabinet utilizing a gasket constructed and arranged according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary view of a hinged corner of a refrigerator door;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line IIIIII of FIG. 2 with the door in partially closed position;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line IV-IV of FIG. 2, but showing the door in closed position; and

FIG. 5 is a sectional View similar to FIG. 4 showing a conventional gasket in place of one embodying the invention.

Referring to the drawing in detail, in FIG. 1 there is shown a domestic refrigerator cabinet including a casing 12 having in front a generally upright, rectangular access opening to a food storage compartment 14 therewithin. A door 16 for closing the access opening is suitably mounted on the casing 12, as by hinges 18, for swingable movement about a vertical axis indicated at AA. The vertical door edges are flush with the side Walls of the casing 12 and the hinge axis AA is offset horizontally from the generally vertical plane of the access opennited States Patent Ofice 3,h38,2l8 Patented June '12, 1962 movable outside the planes of the casing side walls when opened or less, the hinge axis AA passes through the door body within the horizontal extent thereof.

Fastened to the inner door face is a gasket which is arranged to engage a seat 25 on the front wall of the casing 12 in sealing relationship and along a generally rectangular line surrounding the access opening. The gasket comprises upper and lower horizontal strips 26 and 27, respectively, as well as a vertical strip 28 on the hinge side of the door and another vertical strip 29 near the free edge of the door 16, all defining a rectangle. The gasket is made of vinyl plastic, or plastic-like material, extruded in great lengths, then suitably cut and notched to facilitate installation as a unitary part; all of which is well known in the art. A thermoplastic material such as vinyl plastic, is preferably employed for a reason which will be explained hereafter.

As shown in FIG. 3, the gasket includes a base portion 30 of generally C-shaped cross section for receiving a clamping frame 32 by which the gasket is clamped to an inner flange 33 of the door 16. The gasket further includes an elongated, balloon-like striking head 34 of tubular construction. The striking bead 34 extends longitudinally of the base portion 30, and these par-ts are flexibly connected together by an elongated web 36. As shown, the striking bead 34 is thin-walled and hollow, but its empty interior may be stuffed to render it less compressible if desired.

In 'FIG.' 2 there is shown a corner fragment of the gasket which is adjacent the hinge axis, there being, for the sake of illustration, fragments of the lower horizontal strip 27 and the vertical strip 28 meeting at right angles. If both fragments were made entirely as thus far described (see FIG. 3), the contact surface of the striking bead 30 of the vertical strip 28 would brush against the seat surface 25 of the casing 12 and deflect laterally as the door closes. Lateral deflection of the lower end of the vertical strip 28 places the end fragment of the horizontal strip 27 in endwise compression, causing it to buckle, with the result that its striking bead 34 partly collapses, as shown in FIG. 5, and a leak in the seal is created. A similar condition would occur in the upper horizontal strip 26. In order to avoid this condition, the upper and lower ends of the vertical strip 28 are made more resistant to lateral deflection than are other portions of the gasket, as best seen in FIG. 4, by attaching significant portions of the striking bead 34 to the base 30 outwardly of the junction of the web 36 and the base. To this end, appreciable lengths of the vertical strip 28, at its upper and lower ends, are preferably welded to the base 30, whereas in other portions of the gasket the web 36 alone connects the head 34 to the base. For some applications only a spot weld is required at the vital end points of the vertical strip 28; and in others a weld several inches in length is desirable. While the invention could be practiced by attaching the bead 34 to the base 30 throughout the entire length of the gasket it is believed unnecessary to do so because only the vertical strip 28 experiences a wiping action which produces appreciable deflection.

In the past, various remedies for the aforesaid problem have been proposed, but none has proved to be as effective and simple. As mentioned previously a gasket made from thermoplastic material such as vinyl plastic is pre ferred so that the bead 34 may be Welded to the base 30 by the application of heat and pressure; however, an adhesive may also be used to attach these parts. And this may be done before or after the gasket is installed. It is preferred, however, to install the gasket in the usual manner; then the assembler inserts a heated blade between the bead 34 and the base 30, compresses the head, withdraws the blade, and allows a few seconds for the parts to set before releasing the bead. With this arrangement the striking bead 34 retains its easy compressibility along its entire length, and the previously described welded connection between the striking bead and the base 30 prevents the end portions of the striking bead in the vertical strip 28 from deflecting laterally inwardly. Thus, the striking beads of the horizontal strips 26 and 27 are not subjected to buckling forces and they can perform their sealing function efiectively.

While the invention has been shown in but one form, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that it is not so limited, but is susceptible of various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit thereof.

What is claimed is:

1. A gasket for a cabinet including a casing having an access opening lying in a plane and a door for closing said opening, said door being mounted on said casing for angular movement about an axis parallel to and offset from said plane; said gasket comprising an elongated base secured to said door, and a flexible striking bead extending longitudinally of said base and connected thereto along the length thereof, said striking bead of said gasket being adapted to engage said casing in sealing relationship along a generally rectangular line surrounding said opening, the gasket portion which is parallel to said axis and disposed closest to said axis having that edge of its striking bead which is located outwardly of said rectangular line attached, at least at the ends thereof, directly to said base outwardly of the first-mentioned connection between said base and said striking bead.

2. A gasket for a cabinet including a casing having an access opening lying in a plane and a door for closing said opening, said door being mounted on said casing for angular movement about an axis parallel to and offset from the plane of said opening; said gasket being made of thermoplastic material and comprising: an elongated base for securing said gasket to said door, and a flexible striking bead of bulbous cross section extending longitudinally of said base and connected thereto along the length thereof, said striking bead of said gasket being adapted to engage said casing in sealing relationship along a generally rectangular line surrounding said opening, the ends of the gasket portion parallel to said axis and disposed closest to said axis having that edge of its striking bead which is located outwardly of said rectangular line welded to said base outwardly of the first-mentioned connection between said base and said striking bead.

3. A gasket of thermoplastic material for a cabinet including a casing having a generally rectangular access opening lying in a substantially vertical plane and a door for closing said opening, said door being mounted on said casing for angular movement about a vertical axis oifset horizonally from the plane of said opening; said gasket comprising an elongated base secured to said door, a flexible striking bead of cylindrical shape extending longitudinally of said base portion, and means flexibly connecting said striking bead to said base along the length thereof, said connecting means of said gasket being deflectable laterally relative said base, said striking bead being adapted to engage said casing in sealing relationship along a generally rectangular line surrounding said opening, the vertical gasket portion closest to said axis having, at both its upper and lower ends, that edge of its striking bead welded directly to said base which is located outwardly of said rectangular line outwardly of the connection between said base and said connecting means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,659,941 Beck Nov. 24, 1953 2,855,639 Korb Oct. 14, 1958 2,880,049 Tarleton Mar. 31, 1959 2,908,949 Frehse Oct. 20, 1959 FOREIGN PATENTS 646,026 Germany June 1, 1937 

